Open the Notepad again and paste (CTRL+V) the key and save the file as GMAPSUPP. NEW 2017/2018 VERSION WITH LATEST MAPS - VERSION V9, FOR 2017. HOW TO: Map Update on Uconnect CTP13+ (2013 - 2014) Archive HOW TO: Map Update on Uconnect CTP13+ (2013 - 2014) Archive - Dodge Charger Forums. Jun 19, 2012 Connect it to your mac with a USB A male – mini B male cable. This works with or without batteries in the device. If there is a warning message on the device “The USB cable is connected to the wrong adapter.”, then find another cable (for some reason there are at least two alternative internal wiring options of USB A male – mini B male.
This is a techy post for those of you who use a Garmin handheld mapping unit and are as confused about its wierd map format as I was. (I’ve posted it mainly as a reference for future use, but figured that people with similar experience might find it useful). The little mini-tutorial is written with the Garmin eTrex 30 and Mac OS X in mind, but most of it translates well to other Garmin hendhelds and Windows or Linux. Its goes through:
- Unlocking Garmin img map files
- Merging Garmin img map files
- Storing Garmin img map file on a micro SD card in the Garmin eTrex 30
- Importing Garmin img map file into Map Source, Base Camp or similar official Garmin software on the mac.
Getting ready. Let’s assume we have the Garmin device and there are perhaps already some maps on it. Start it and set it up as USB mass storage (menu->Setup->System->USB Mode).While at it, write down the Unit ID of your device (menu->Setup->About). My Unit ID: 3832769337.
Connect it to your mac with a USB A male – mini B male cable. This works with or without batteries in the device. If there is a warning message on the device “The USB cable is connected to the wrong adapter.”, then find another cable (for some reason there are at least two alternative internal wiring options of USB A male – mini B male cables).
Next download gmaptool from the official (Polish) site. (The mac binary I use is “gmt_v0.4.2a_pod_Mac_OS_X” but they also provide ones for windows and linux). Unzip it and place the binary “gmt” in /usr/local/bin. Check out the readme file to see what the software is capable of.
Backup and restore. Open a terminal window on the mac and create a working directory (e.g. “~/tmp”) and make a backup copy of what is on the garmin device: “mkdir ~/tmp; cp -r /Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin ~/tmp/”. Now that the data from the device is backed up, wipe all maps from it: “cd /Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin; sudo rm *.img *.sum”. To restore simply copy the content of the backup back onto the device.
Unlocking map files. The most convenient way to unlock maps (given that you have legally purchased the right to do so from Garmin) is to use “gimgunlock.exe” (which I have installed under C:Program Filesgimgunlockgimgunlock.exe). It is available as windows binary or source (compilable for your platform of choice). Drag the img file you wish to unlock (for all units) and drop it over the exe file. A command prompt will show up and the file will be unlocked. It is a good idea to make a backup of the locked file as gimgunlock makes in-place changes to the file. It has been reported that the software cannot handle files larger than 2 GB. There is a patched version for up to 4 GB files. It requires registration for downloading and I have not tried it out.
From my experience it is possible to first unlock individual map files and then merge them (keeping the unlock intact) as described below.
Merging map files. Place all *.img files you wish to merge in “~/tmp/maps” and “mkdir ~/tmp/mergedMaps”. In ‘”~/tmp” type “gmt -j -o mergedMaps/gmapsupp.img -m “allMaps” *.img “‘, where “*.img” can be expanded to the paths of all the *.img files you wish to merge. Replace “allMap” with whatever you want the map to be called in the map selection menu on the device. Sometimes gmt segfaults when combining the “-r”and “-m” flags. Running once with “-r” then running another time with “-m” fixes this problem. The device-ready file “~/tmp/mergedMaps/gmapsupp.img” is created.
Upload to device. Simply copy your freshly created “gmapsupp.img” to “/Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin/” and restart the device. Got to “menu->Setup->Map->Map Information” on the Garmin eTrex 30 to see if all maps were successfully loaded.
I also have a basemap (world with contries and major roads) which I have named “gmapbmap.img” and placed in “/Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin”.
Upload to micro SD card. If you wish to install the maps on a micro SD card (as I do) rather than on the internal memory of the Garmin eTrex 30, start by mounting the micro SD card on the mac. The SD card takes longer time for the mac to mount, so wait a bit before troubleshooting. Also, writing to the card while it is in the device is very slow. Using the USB SD card reader combined with a SD to micro SD adapter is much faster. Format the micro SD card to the FAT-32 file system (using Disk Utility). I renamed my card to “GARMINSD”. Copy the “gmapsupp.img” file to “/Volumes/GARMINSD/Garmin/”. Once the card is in the device you are ready to go.
Note that the device takes a long time to boot “Loading maps…” the first time after map installation. Subsequent boots are much faster.
File size. Note that the Garmin eTrex 30 only accepts memory cards formatted in the FAT32 file system, which in terms has a file size limit of 4 GB. If you want maps with a total size greater than approximately 4 GB one option is to use several card. Another option lies in that the device recognizes some additional file names than “gmapsupp.img” in the “Garmin” directory of the micro SD card. File names I have verified to work are:
Gimgunlock For Mac Catalina
- gmapsupp.img
- gmapsupp1.img
It also appears as if you can have a file with the same name in “/Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin/” and “/Volumes/GARMINSD/Garmin”, but I have not verified this extensively.
Import maps to Garmin software. This is not very important since the Garmin software is really crappy. However, if you want to, start Basecamp on the mac and connect the gps. It will sync and upload the maps from “gmapsupp.img” on the device and the same file name of the SD card if present. (This may take a long time.)
Other stuff. I have noted that rendering of the topo maps is painfully slow (almost impossible) in the absence of a world wide basemap. I do not know why, but have fixed this by adding a base map “/Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin/gmapbmap”.
Gimgunlock For Mac Mojave
There is a promising free international map source aimed at bicycle people using Garmin devices: velomap.org an a more general one: gpsfiledepot.org (also free).
Gimgunlock For Macbook Pro
I will write another post once I figured out how I want to setup and use the Garmin eTrex 30 and how to manage track logs in a good way.